Two SSL manufacturers are among the 12 businesses that collectively will receive a total of more than $150 million in clean-energy tax credits, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has announced. Through Phase II of the Advanced Energy Manufacturing Tax Credit (48C) program, these tax credits will go toward investments in domestic manufacturing equipment, helping to create thousands of jobs across the country and increase U.S. competitiveness in the global clean-energy market.

The DOE and the Treasury worked in partnership to develop, launch, and award the funds for the program. The tax credit was made available to 183 domestic clean-energy manufacturing facilities during Phase I of the program, with Phase II awarding the balance that remained out of the $2.3 billion in funding.

Supporting projects that must be placed in service by 2017, the credits cover domestic manufacturing of a wide range of renewable-energy and energy-efficiency products, from hydropower and wind energy to smart-grid technologies to fuel-efficient vehicles. The SSL awardees:

Osram Sylvania Inc. has developed energy-efficient, cutting-edge single-point LED systems for automotive low/high beam projectors, reducing wattages by approximately 70 percent. The tax credit allows the expansion of production capacity.

Cree Inc. will expand its manufacturing footprint, including the purchase, installation, and proprietary modification of new machinery that will allow the company to produce 304 million next-generation LED lighting systems.